Free Domain Names

February 15, 2011 By

There are a lot of options when choosing your domain registration provider, and many often include offers for free registration. While it is easy to get free domain names, sometimes the annoyance and drawbacks far out weigh the benefits you can get. Many free offers come with many strings attached that may not cost you money, but it will limit your ability to do what you want to do with your site once it is up and running. However, for some people having free domain registration as part of a service package can be a good and easy one stop benefit for your site maintenance needs over time.

The important thing is to look through each offer that you are interested in learning more about and weighing the pros and cons that will come to the surface. You can choose a variety of plans and strings that you will not mind having attached to your website, or you can simply fork over the few dollars that it will cost to get your site registered with no strings attached whatsoever. No matter what you decide, exploring some of the free options can be a good way to learn about various web hosting services that are out there during the process.

Free domain names are most commonly used in conjunction with full service web hosting packages that companies will offer potential clients. These normally include web hosting, site design and a host of various features and bonuses you get when you sign up with them. In order to court you into subscribing with them they will often offer free domain registration as part of the process. This is probably the most popular way that people get their free domain names and they are a convenient way for first timers to get online with as little trouble as possible.

Some companies will offer free domain names through sub-domains or advertising. Sub-domains are when your address will be attached to their domain name. Instead of bluesunshine.com, if you register it as a sub-domain, it would bluesunshine.com.whatevercompanyyouused.com. For businesses and people that are trying to maintain their own web identity, this is a huge drawback, and many people don’t view sites that are connected to another domain with as much credibility. Advertisers will also offer free hosting if you put advertisements for their services on your site. All of these options will work depending on your needs and goals, but you should try to pay for your registration to avoid annoying strings down the road.